‘More people wanting local produce’

Wednesday

Jul 10, 2013 at 1:00 PM

Ron Wilson of the Star Farm in nearby Clinton, is set up at the Farmer’s Market in Oak Ridge on a recent Wednesday afternoon.

by Darrell Richardson

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is Part Two of a series. Share your own experiences or suggestions in getting Back to the Earth by emailing us at drichardson@oakridger.com or mailing us at 785 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830.

Ron Wilson of the Star Farm in nearby Clinton, is set up at the Farmer’s Market in Oak Ridge on a recent Wednesday afternoon.

The Farmer’s Market near Historic Jackson Square is open for business on both Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. It’s a sort of “grow it and they will come” business model.

“More people are wanting local grown produce,” Wilson said of the Farmer’s Market ever-growing popularity in The Secret City. Not only that, but because of the local deer population, Wilson says it’s hard for many Ridgers to grow their own produce — and keep it — in this particular geographic area.

Wilson said the value of being a part of the Farmer’s Market includes the exchange of ideas and growing methods.

“Older people know a lot of tricks, and they hand down ideas for fertilization and fertigation,” he said.

As for the consumer, Wilson said farmer’s markets offer an alternative to genetically engineered produce and eating foods laced with pesticides.

“Pesticides keep bugs off (what you’re growing), but they’re not good for you,” Wilson warned.

In contrast, Wilson said home-growned produce tastes better and is cost-competitive to what you might purchase in a grocery store.

For example, if you choose to start growing your own food — and assuming the local deer population keeps its distance — “you may pay a little bit more to get tooled up, but once you get started it’s less expensive … and better tasting … and better for you.”

Wilson said the University of Tennessee, located in neighboring Knox County, offers seminars geared toward farmers selling at farmer’s markets. He also said farmer’s markets attract people of all ages.

Discussing East Tennessee’s wet spring, Wilson conceded that some popular garden fare such as tomatoes and beans may have gotten a late start this year. However, farmers who grow a little farther south — even as close by as Loudon County — may not have had their tomatoes and beans impacted as greatly by spring rains as produce grown a bit farther north.

Oftentimes, visiting area farmer’s markets can be a family affair. David Phillips, 61, who lives in Oak Ridge, dropped in on the local Farmer’s Market with his 10-year-old granddaughter Samantha Miller, a student at Glenwood Elementary School.

“I’m up here about every Saturday,” Phillips said, “but this is my first time on Wednesday.”

The Farmer’s Market has been a tradition in Oak Ridge for the past 35 years, and Wilson said one of the requirements of participating in the Oak Ridge Farmer’s Market is that you have to grow everything yourself.

Wilson has been a part of the local Farmer’s Market since 2005, but before that he would visit the market as a customer.

He retired from the Y-12 National Security Complex just last year as a weapons quality engineer. It capped a 37-year career that included several years in Paducah, Ky., as well as in East Tennessee.

Speaking to a customer himself, Wilson noted that the buyer’s choice of produce “is good for you — there are more antioxidants in them than most tomatoes.”

“They don’t taste any different,” he assured, “they are just better for you.”